{"title":"Books by Tim James","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"9781472148421","title":"Accidental","description":"Nominated for the best popular science book of 2024 by Smart Book.   'Who said science was dry? Certainly not Tim James' New York Post  'James writes with infectious enthusiasm and optimism' Kirkus Reviews  'A science teacher by profession, Mr. James knows how to get his audience's attention' Wall Street Journal  'Humorous, yet deep' Professor Charles AntoineA rip-roaring adventure through science gone wrong, and accidentally changing humanity (mostly) for the better.   We may imagine that science is a process of breakthroughs and light bulb moments. But in reality, science goes wrong 99% of the time.   Almost every idea a scientist comes up with is quickly disproved by a failed experiment or rival research. Science moves at a rate of inches per decade and we often like it that way. But occasionally, just occasionally, a complete fluke happens and changes everything as we know it. From an untimely sneeze in a petri dish leading to the groundbreaking creation of antibiotics, to the incredible discovery of microwaves via melted chocolate, Accidental is a rip-roaring adventure through science gone wrong, and accidentally changing humanity for the better.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":54926318338421,"sku":"9781472148421","price":12.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781472148421_584e4d45-6e3b-4489-9edb-387131fc66cc.jpg?v=1786021197"},{"product_id":"9780520260238","title":"Wines of the New South Africa – Tradition and Revolution","description":"Sought after by European aristocrats and a favorite of Napoleon Bonaparte, the sweet wines of Constantia in the Cape Colony were considered to be among the world's best during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. During the first democratic elections in 1994, South Africa began to re-emerge onto the international wine scene. Tim James, an expert on South African wines, takes the reader on an information-packed tour of the region, showing us how and why the unique combination of terroir and climate, together with dramatic improvements in winemaking techniques, result in wines that are once again winning accolades.  James describes important grape varieties and wine styles - from delicate sparkling, to rich fortified, and everything in between - including the varietal blends that produce some of the finest Cape wines. Anchoring his narrative in a rich historical context, James discusses all the major wine regions, from Cederberg to Walker Bay, complete with profiles of more than 150 of the country's finest producers.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56291140206965,"sku":"9780520260238","price":34.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780520260238_96eb34fe-8b7e-4fe3-8733-bf8741c08274.jpg?v=1786014149"},{"product_id":"9781472140944","title":"Elemental","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eSELECTED AS ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF 2018 BY THE \u003ci\u003eDAILY MAIL \u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'A hugely entertaining tour of the periodic table and the 118 elements that are the basic building blocks of everything' \u003ci\u003eDaily Mail\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn 2016, with the addition of four final elements - nihonium, moscovium, tennessine and oganesson - to make a total of 118 elements, the periodic table was finally complete, rendering any pre-existing books on the subject obsolete.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eTim James, the science YouTuber and secondary-school teacher we all wish we'd had, provides an accessible and wonderfully entertaining 'biography of chemistry' that uses stories to explain the positions and patterns of elements in the periodic table. Many popular science titles tend to tell the \u003ci\u003ehistory\u003c\/i\u003e of scientific developments, leaving the actual science largely unexplained; James, however, makes use of stories to explain the \u003ci\u003eprinciples of chemistry \u003c\/i\u003ewithin the table, showing its relevance to everyday life.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eQuirkily illustrated and filled with humour, this is the perfect book for students wanting to learn chemistry or for parents wanting to help, but it is also for \u003ci\u003eanyone\u003c\/i\u003e who wants to understand how our world works at a fundamental level. The periodic table, that abstract and seemingly jumbled graphic, holds (nearly) all the answers.    \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAs James puts it, elements are 'the building blocks nature uses for cosmic cookery: the purest substances making up everything from beetroot to bicycles.'\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWhether you're studying the periodic table for the first time or are simply interested in the fundamental building blocks of the universe - from the core of the sun to the networks in our brains - \u003ci\u003eElemental\u003c\/i\u003e is the perfect guide.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWebsite: timjamesscience.com YouTube: timjamesScience Twitter: @tjamesScience\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56300002312565,"sku":"9781472140944","price":16.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781472140944_28632499-521c-45c1-b3f8-1f81a453e4e6.jpg?v=1786020909"},{"product_id":"9781472143488","title":"Fundamental","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eFundamental\u003c\/i\u003e does for physics what Tim's first book, \u003ci\u003eElemental\u003c\/i\u003e, does for chemistry: it demystifies the topic in his trademark humorous, engaging style, including the most recent developments in the field.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAt the start of the twentieth century, science appeared complete and the laws of nature were almost all discovered, but then we woke a sleeping giant - we discovered quantum mechanics.  \u003cbr\u003eIn the quantum realm, objects can be in two places at once. It's a place where time travel is not only possible, but necessary. It's a place where cause and effect can happen in reverse and observing something changes its state. From parallel universes to antimatter, quantum mechanics has revealed that when you get right down to it, the laws of nature are insane. The scientist J. B. S. Haldane once said, 'Reality is not only stranger than we imagine . . . it's stranger than we \u003ci\u003ecan\u003c\/i\u003e imagine.' Never is this more true than with quantum mechanics; our best, most recent attempt to make sense of the fundamental laws of nature.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eFundamental\u003c\/i\u003e is a comprehensive beginner's guide to quantum mechanics, explaining not only the weirdness of the subject but the experiments that proved it to be true. Using a humorous and light-hearted approach, \u003ci\u003eFundamental\u003c\/i\u003e tells the story of how the most brilliant minds in science grappled with seemingly impossible ideas and gave us everything from microchips to particle accelerators.  \u003ci\u003eFundamental\u003c\/i\u003e gives clear explanations of all the quantum phenomena known to modern science, without requiring an understanding of complex mathematics; tells the eccentric stories of the scientists who made these shattering discoveries and what they used them for; explains how quantum field theory (a topic not covered in detail by any other popular-science book) gave rise to particle physics and why the Higgs boson isn't the end of the story.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56312430920053,"sku":"9781472143488","price":16.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781472143488_460ba9ed-cfa1-4db8-be2e-866ae9878bc5.jpg?v=1786020980"},{"product_id":"9781472144324","title":"Astronomical","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e'In the same light-heartedly informative spirit as his previous \u003ci\u003eElemental\u003c\/i\u003e, Tim James gives us an entertaining gallop through light years of space science, from the big bang to UFOs'\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAndrew Crumey, author of \u003ci\u003eThe Great Chain of Unbeing\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePRAISE FOR THE AUTHOR\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e'Humorous, yet deep . . . \u003ci\u003eFundamental\u003c\/i\u003e will speak to all readers' \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eProfessor Charles Antoine, Sorbonne University\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e'Who said science was dry? Certainly not Tim James'\u003cbr\u003e \u003ci\u003eNew York Post\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003eDoes the Big Bang prove the existence of God? What's the Universe expanding into? Is Earth the only planet which supports life? Why did the greatest astronomer in history murder his pet moose?\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eSpace is the biggest, oldest, hottest, coldest, strangest thing a human can study. It's no surprise then, that the weirdest facts in science (not to mention the weirdest scientists themselves) are found in astrophysics and cosmology.  \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIf you're looking for instructions on how to set up your grandad's telescope this book probably isn't for you. In \u003ci\u003eAstronomical\u003c\/i\u003e, Tim James takes us on a tour of the known (and unknown) Universe, focusing on the most-mind boggling stuff we've come across, as well as unpacking the latest theories about what's really going on out there.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eGuiding us through Einstein's relativity, quantum mechanics and string theory, \u003ci\u003eAstronomical\u003c\/i\u003e delves into the baffling corners of the cosmos and tackles the biggest mysteries we face: from alien life to the zodiac; from white holes to wormholes; from quasars to quark stars. This is the science of space at its absolute strangest! \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFrom the creation of the Universe out of nothing to the Large Hadron Collider and the Universe's ongoing expansion, Tim explores our planetary neighbours, where it snows metal on Venus, there are underground lakes on Mars and rivers of petrol on Titan. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eHe then looks beyond our solar system: to exoplanets which could support life, rogue planets, quark stars, quasars, neutron stars and more. Tim looks at black holes (and how to survive in one), wormholes, white holes as well as dark energy, dark matter and even a bit of string theory thrown in for good measure. He explains the search for extra-terrestrial intelligence, including the discovery of Martian fossils in the Alan Hills meteorite and the tantalising 'Wow signal' transmission earth received in 1973 - still unexplained. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eHe also rebuts resurgent anti-science movements, including the Flat Earth Society and discusses what's really going on inside Area 51.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eTo close, Tim finishes by looking at human achievements in space including how rockets work, how faster-than-light warp-drives (currently being investigated by NASA) work and how we plan to colonise both the moon and Mars.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56312431542645,"sku":"9781472144324","price":16.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781472144324_6e4e7ce3-09a4-4173-969e-24a54c374f5d.jpg?v=1786021013"}],"url":"https:\/\/backstory.london\/collections\/author-tim-james.oembed","provider":"Backstory","version":"1.0","type":"link"}